'The Arcade' joystick with DB9 connector for playing on an MSX emulator

[qxb265]

Hello,

I am new, so not sure where to post my question...

I want to use a retro 'The Arcade' joystick for playing on an MSX emulator. Therefor I bought a DB9 connector to connect my joystick via USB to my Mac. See the added photo. I can't get it to work. Is there something I am doing wrong or is this not gonna work....?

cheers,
qxb

[PL1]

I want to use a retro 'The Arcade' joystick for playing on an MSX emulator. Therefor I bought a DB9 connector to connect my joystick via USB to my Mac. See the added photo. I can't get it to work. Is there something I am doing wrong or is this not gonna work....?

Welcome aboard, Qxb265.   

I'm not familiar with that adapter.   

Do you have a part number/manufacturer/link for it?

Did the listing say that the adapter is intended for DB9 joystick ==> USB or is it intended for serial port ==> USB?
(There's a huge difference in the wiring between these two applications.)

If it's intended for a joystick, there should be a gamepad encoder inside.


Scott

[qxb265]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for your answer!

I am afraid then that it's a simple converter... What I read in your comment is that to be able to use the converter to function as a DB9 joystick converter, it should be programmed? That is not the case and I doubt can be done for this one. See the attached picture.

Any suggestion of what plug-and-play converter (without programming involved) I should use?

greetz,
Martin

[PL1]

What you have now is an RS-232 serial port to USB adapter.

What you need is called an "encoder".

Sounds like the type of encoder you're looking for changes joystick/button presses into gamepad outputs (gamepad-style encoder) rather than one that outputs keystrokes. (keyboard-style encoder)

Here's some general pinout info for MSX joysticks.



http://old.pinouts.ru/Inputs/JoystickMsx_pinout.shtml

Not sure exactly which version of "the arcade" joystick you have, but it appears that they are also Atari-compatible since most systems that used DB9 joystick port connectors used almost identical pinouts.

Raphnet has a DB9 to USB adapter with a built-in gamepad encoder >>> here <<< that should work for your setup.

Looking at the schematic from the related raphnet build-your-own-from-scratch project page:

- Up, down, left, and right are on pins 1-4 -- good for both MSX and Atari sticks

- Common is on pin 8 -- good for both MSX and Atari sticks

- Button 1 is on pin 6 -- good for both MSX and Atari sticks

- Button 2 (if your stick has one) might be on pin 7 which is labeled "select" on the raphnet adapter.
-- The project page mentions that the firmware has auto-detection, so you might want to ask them if your stick is already compatible.
-- Worst case scenario, you might have to make an adapter cable from a DB9 extension cable to connect joystick pin 7 to the correct adapter pin.

This page mentions that there may be a select switch button on the bottom of your stick that changes which button is conected to which pin.   


That's about as close to certain as I can get you without knowing the exact model and pinout of your stick.   


Scott

[qxb265]

Hi Scott,

Thanks so much for your elaborate reply!
I am gonna dive in to your leads about how to deal with it!

greetz from the Netherlands!
Martin